Hope everyone’s new year is off to a great start! I know Christmas is already behind us, but I’m still seeing Christmas lights and decorations up around town, so I hope it’s not too late to share the photos from my Christmas minis with you.
I feel like nothing went as planned in 2020, and my Christmas minis were no exception! Typically I do at least three elaborate setups in the studio and also schedule a time for Santa to come in for photos with the kids. Back in March, when the COVID restrictions were first set up, I really didn’t expect for it to last as long as it did. I certainly didn’t think I’d still be worrying about it at Christmas! But as the time got closer to the holidays and the pandemic was still happening I went back and forth trying to come up with a safe way to do Christmas photography for my clients. It’s a tradition I love, and I know my clients count on it for holiday photos and Christmas cards, so I didn’t want to let them down. But client health and safety is a huge priority and I didn’t want to do anything to jeopardize the health of these precious families.
Eventually I realized that we could still do it—I would just
have to get creative.
Instead of my usual 3+ super fancy setups, I went with two very simple, COVID-friendly studio setups—A big wreath on the wall with a red couch in front of it, and a festive fireplace. I made sure these had minimal props to be touched and could be easily sanitized between clients. And even though they’re simple, they’re still beautiful!
I did have to forego doing Santa photos, which was sad. My girls and I did stop to say hi to him in the mall, but it just wasn’t the same. However, back in September I’d had the foresight to do a photo shoot with him at a tree farm holding frames. I figured that way, even if we couldn’t get together at the studio, I could still give Santa photos to my mini session clients. They were a huge hit! And since I knew 2020 was making it tough for families everywhere to do the usual fun Christmas things, I decided to offer those Santa pictures to non-clients as well. I ended up selling over 50 pictures to families across the nation to enable them to get their safe Santa photo even with all the COVID craziness going on. Santa was so pleased when I told him and said he didn’t know whether to smile or cry!
Even with all the changes, we still had a wonderful day of Christmas photo mini sessions. It was great to see all my clients and their families! Plus, since I had to change 2020's setups, and since I always buy a year in advance, I'm already set for Christmas minis at the end of this year. Can't wait to see everyone again--hopefully under circumstances that are much more merry and bright!
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